INTRODUCTION 
Mammals and their Study 
THE first questions that present themselves in the study cf 
mammals are: What is a mammal and what is an animale An 
animal we are told is anything endowed with life, that is not 
a plant. Very true, but popularly we use the word in another 
sense, meaning a beast as opposed to a bird, a fish or a rep- 
tile—that is to say we mean one of the classes of back-boned 
animals. 
Unfortunately we have no English name for this group. 
The term ‘‘quadruped,” it is true, applies to a great majority 
of its members, but does not fit the whales or bats which 
belong here just as much as the four-footed beasts; nor does 
‘‘quadruped’’ apply to man who stands at the head of the 
group. Therefore we have to adopt an abbreviation of the Latin 
name for this class of animals and call them mammals. A mam- 
mal then is characterized by having a more or less hairy body, 
and in suckling its young, while it has warm blood like the 
birds. 
The relations between man and the lower mammals _ have 
always been most important. He depends upon them for meat 
and clothing, he uses them as beasts of burden, he hunts them 
and trains them to hunt each other. With the exception of the 
beasts of burden and those which aid him in the chase, man’s 
attitude toward mammals has always been that of a destroyer; 
in whatever field he may meet them his object is always to kill. 
Those which furnish good meat are slaughtered for food or 
are pursued from pure love of the chase; those which furnish 
valuable skins are killed by the trappers as a means of liveli- 
hood; fierce beasts are everywhere shot on sight, while a relent- 
less war is being perpetually carried on against the great army 
of rats, mice and other despoilers of our crops. 
Much of this slaughter is justified, but much is unwarranted 
and is speedily effecting the extermination of all the large and 
especially desirable mammals of the world. 
Pure greed and wantonness are destroying many of the most 
